Safe and Sound
by FooFooCuddlyPoof
Summary: It's been years since he stopped having nightmares of that incident. He couldn't think of any reason why he suddenly had to put up with it again. To add up to his thoughts, this one's slightly different. *edited chapter 4*
1. Safe

_There was nothing he could do. _

_*****__"will you protect me?"__*****_

_Tsui Ling's voice rang in his ears as he helplessly watched her die._

_Blood was streaming down from her lips, making its way down her neck, arms and into the pool of blood beneath her._

"_stop it" he pleaded_

_He felt numb. He felt like everything was playing in fast forward and in slow motion at the same time, and he was stuck at still trying to figuring out how that could be._

"_K-Kazuma.." His lover calls his name_

"_Tsui Ling.." he responds._

_She turned her head to face him and he watched as her eyes turned from emerald green into crimson red._

_He was stunned._

_**Wh-what's happening?**_

_His eyes traveled from her eyes to her long (and now) red hair. _

"_K-kazuma.." The voice was different from the first one._

_His heart skipped. This isn't Tsui Ling._

_The numbness he felt before was lost and he began to feel everything, and see everything at its clearest. His head was pounding and he felt every muscle of his body tense. The temperature around him dropped. His eyes widened as he recognizes the girl before him._

_**AYANO!**_

* * *

His eyes shot wide open as he gasped for air. His hands went to grab anything he could feel…

_Sheets. Bed sheets. _

He was in bed. His heart was pounding violently. He sat up and concentrated on calming himself down.

He lifted his palms to his face as he tried to steady his breathing.

It's been years since he stopped having nightmares of that incident. He couldn't think of any reason why he suddenly had to put up with it again.

To add up to his thoughts, this one's different.

It had always been Tsui Ling until the end of the dream. He clutched at the sheets.

"Ayano…" he whispers. His heart pounded violently again.

He grunted as he got up, got dressed and head to the Kannagi compound

He knows he wouldn't shake off this uneasy feeling until he saw her.

* * *

.

.

.

.

.

"Kazuma.." she mumbles in her sleep

Ayano shifted slightly in her bed.

A soft smile made its way to his lips as he hears his name escaped her lips.

He was sitting on the side of her bed, observing her.

She looked so peaceful. Her hair was spread out around her, framing her body.

She nuzzled her nose closer to the body pillow she was hugging and he can't help but think of how much he would give at the moment to take the pillow's place.

He noticed a few strands of hair on her face and struggled in fighting off the urge to brush them away.

…

…

…

Oh, screw it.

He reached out his hand near to her face and gently brushed the strayed strands of hair away from her face.

As his fingers made contact with her skin, he felt her move and he immediately jerked his hand away.

Her eyes fluttered open.

_Shit…_

Once she gained focus, her eyes widened.

"EEEEk- - -"

He covered her mouth with his hand

"shhshhhhh… it's just me. Don't scream." When he was sure that she's recognized him, He released her.

"Kazuma! How long have you been here?!" She angrily whispered as she sat up on her bed.

He looked at his watch before answering,

"… only a few hours.."

"Few HOURS?! You've been watching me sleep for HOURS?! You pervert!" A deep shade of blush crept up her cheeks.

"Well I **did** thought of waking you up, but you were just so peaceful and I ended up just waiting till you wake up on your own"

She blushed harder at what he said.

"wha- what are you doing here anyway?" she turned away her face, in attempt to hide her blush.

"I don't know… I wanted to talk to you" _well I only wanted to __**see **__you and I wasn't supposed to get caught. I wasn't even supposed to stay for hours. But- -_

"Couldn't it be saved for tomorrow?"

Couldn't it?

No. He didn't think so.

"I had a nightmare."

She was startled. His eyes were hidden behind his bangs as he avoided her gaze. Her blush left her face and turned into an expression that of worry.

" d-do you want to talk about it?" She carefully asked, suddenly nervous.

She felt her chest tighten as a sad smile played on his lips. He shook his head.

"no.. not tonight." He whispered

"I thought you said you wanted to talk"

"Then I guess I didn't. Maybe I just needed to see you." He reached out and slid a hand to the back of her head, pulled her and leaned his forehead against hers.

She was taken aback with his sudden actions.

"k-kazuma…" Her face turned different shades of red. He was too close.

He then, found himself struggling again with fighting the urge to kiss her, but soon won against it, thinking it might make things awkward between them, and he couldn't afford to have any sort of distance between them now… especially not now.

"did the nightmare involve me?" she finally asked.

She bit her tongue, scolding herself for assuming things.

He slightly pulled away to briefly look at her in the eyes. Her eyes flashed of curiosity, embarrassment, concern and comfort.

He smiled and responded by brushing his lips against her forehead.

"Let me stay with you tonight." He whispers.

She was silent for a few moments, having a private battle with herself about whether to let him stay or send him away.

The battle didn't really last long since she knew after all, she could never send him away.

"s-sure, yeah.. why not" she stuttered, trying to make it sound like it's a light matter.

"..thanks."

She shifted and made space for him to lie on her bed, making sure there's enough distance between him and her.

But he was having none of that.

He slid his hands around her waist and pulled her close, breathing her in.

She almost shrieked at his actions. She tried pushing him away at first, but later she found herself relax in his warmth.

Soon, her eyelids gave up and finally closed as she drifts off to sleep.

.

.

He had to admit, this was better than what he originally came for.

He felt even more satisfied as he felt her chest rise up and back down with her steady breathing.

.

.

Now, everything felt right.

She was there,

In his arms,

She was safe.

* * *

A/N: soooo… what do you think about this one? Let me know.

I'm still thinking about whether I would make this a multi-chap story or just leave it here.

I **want** to make it a multi-chap but I don't know if I can.

I'm not good with writing multi chap stories, I swear. TT-TT

If I'm going to make this as multi-chap, I'm seriously gonna need help… and I have no one who could help me with this.

I have** little **skills in writing one shots like this one, what chance do I have in writing a multi-chap story? TT-TT

Oh and uh, a lot of thanks to the following people:

**Koko**

**kazenostigmalover**

**hotakugirl1996**

**kazenostigmafan4ever**

**Heavy Distance**

**SapphiRubyCrys**

**(there's another one but he/she was signed as a guest) **

For leaving reviews on my first one shot, "Too Early For This"

You guys are the reason why I had the motivation to write this one.. ;)

I hope you enjoyed this one as well. :D

Reviews would be very much appreciated :D


	2. Great Day

She felt heavy. She couldn't move freely, She felt warmer than the usual, and the smell. The smell wasn't the usual plum scent of her pillows and sheets. It smelled like - -

Her eyes flew open. She blinked a few times to focus.

Chest.

.

A man's chest.

.

A man's **bare **chest.

.

Her eyes traveled from this chest to its owner.

.

**Kazuma's** bare chest.

He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her close. Too close. She could feel his breath tickle her.

Blood rushed to her face as she recalled what happened last night. She shut her eyes tight, in attempt to calm down.

She opened one eye to peek at him.

A slight twitch of his lips caught her attention.

_His lips._

She opened both her eyes to look at them.

Great, now she can't take her eyes off of them.

.

She thought of how different he looked without his usual smirk.

.

She thought of the little kisses he gives to annoy her… on the nose, neck, on top of her head.

.

She thought of his smile… and soon regretted it. She caught herself smiling as well. Her face warmed up again.

_What the heck was going on? When did his lips get so interesting anyway?!_

Her fingers itched to touch them. She tried to fight off the urge but failed miserably.

Her heart pounded _damn, damn, damn.._. It's mocking her.

Her hands moved out of her will, and her fingers inched nearer to his face.

Nearer…

.

Nearer…

.

Nea- -

"Admiring the view, Princess?"

She almost jumped when he suddenly talked. The former plan of touching and caressing vanished and she whacked him on the head instead.

"Ow! That's wasn't very nice" He rubbed the area where she hit her.

"Idiot! You were awake?!"

"Yep"

"For how long?!"

"Long enough to know that you were about touch my face- whoa!" She attempted to hit him again but he caught her hand.

He unfolded her fingers, turned them over and kissed her knuckles.

"Careful, princess"

Her blush intensified tenfold.

"Let go, you pervert!I Now, when did you wake up?!"

"I'm not sure… When did you start snoring?" he teased

"… I. DO. NOT **SNORE!**" She kicked him off her bed. "Whatever… there's no way you could have been up earlier than I did"

"Who do you think turned your alarm clock off?"

Now that she thought about it, she didn't hear her alarm go off. She shot a look at the time.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" She jumped from her bed and ran to her bathroom "Why didn't you wake me?!"

"wasn't my job." He replied smugly

"JERK! It also wasn't your job to freakin turn off my alarm! I'm going to be late, you stupid jerk! I'm gonna kill you, just you wait!" She shouted from her bathroom

"Good morning to you too, princess!"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

He chuckled to himself as he started to leave.

* * *

"seriously!... That kazuma!" She slammed the door to her room shut then ran towards the dining area.

"Ah. Goodmorning, Ayano." Jugo greeted

"yeah yeah, morning. Gonna be late, bye" she took a piece of toast, and rushed out.

What a great way to start the day. It was a nice cloudy day. The birds were chirping merrily, distant laughter of kids can be heard,… She mumbles curses as she make her way to school, had a piece of toast for breakfast, she trips on the staircase, get scolded by the teacher for being late.

Just great.

But she just couldn't forget the sight of a half-naked kazuma, "sleeping" peacefully with his arms around her.

She mentally chokes herself.

* * *

"Something tells me you didn't come here from your apartment." Detective Tachibana stated as she closed the door of her office.

"I didn't" Kazuma replied as he walked in

Kirika had called him on his cell earlier just when he got out of the Kannagi compound. She told him they had something to talk about – An urgent matter which might interest him.

"Where did you spend the night?" She inquired.

"You're the detective, you tell me." He Lazily sat down on the couch.

"I'm a detective, not your stalker." Kirika adjusted her eyeglasses. "How is she?"

He smirked.

"So, about the urgent matter you were talking about?" He changed topic.

"ah, not letting me in, huh." She smiled. "Anyway, reports of youma disturbances concentrated around a certain area have been growing rapidly since the past few months. It's not at the level of panic yet but there are reasons to take precautions."

He raised a brow as a response.

"Youmas have been observed to be drawn to power. There are youmas who recklessly move towards it, but there are some that are aware of the magnitude and dangers that come with it."

"You're talking about youma classifications?"

"yes, based on strength and intelligence. The youmas that were responsible for these attacks belong to either type D or type E. These two types are considered as the lowest type of youmas. They're the weakest, and they seem to have the least level of intelligence."

"and the other types?"

"Types B and C are the higher types of youma. They are the ones who might have been human in the past. They have survival instincts unlike the lower types. You probably had battled a few of this kind."

"The recent attacks, they were all made by type D and E youmas? So what happened to the B's and C's?"

"We haven't detected anything from them. It's as if they've disappeared or went into hiding"

Kazuma crossed his legs, and took a few long seconds before he started, "What area exactly are they drawn to?"

Kirika continued, "The investigation is still ongoing, but we're assuming it's here." She points at a map and hands him a photograph of the place.

He took the photograph. His eyes widened as the events of Pandemonium flashed in his mind.

"The Central Park, huh" he murmured

* * *

-after school hours-

"ne, Ayano. Miyamoto-sensei almost marked you absent today. What happened?" Nanase started

"oh yeah, that's right, Ayano-chan. Why were you late?" Yukari joined.

The atmosphere around her suddenly grew cold.

"It's that idiot Kazuma's fault." She gripped at her fork, her voice dark and deadly.

"what do you mean it's his fault? Did he keep you up all night?!" Yukari squealed. Her eyes popped out into hearts. "You have to tell us the details!"

"YOU'RE GETTING THE WRONG IDEA!" She freaked out. "He just turned off my alarm clock so I woke up late!" she explained, trying to sound convincing

"He was there rather early, A-ya-no - chan." The two girls' eyebrows were going up and down, trying to send a message to each other.

Ayano gobbled up all her cake, rushing to escape further questioning.

"YES! He was there rather irritatingly early! Oh, look at the time. It's past my cufew. I have to go now, thanks Nanase, Yukari! Take care! See you on Monday!" She dashed out of the cake shop.

She decided not to tell them about Kazuma staying over last night… and kissing her forehead… and sleeping beside her… and enveloping her in his arms- -

She hit herself in the head.

_Stop thinking about last night!_

She was too busy mentally scolding herself to feel the presence of someone.

"It's good to see you again,… _Ayano_, is it?" the voice was familiar.

Her heart stopped for a moment, her blood ran cold.

Before she could turn around to see whose voice it is, she blacked out.

* * *

"So all these came from Detective Tachibana?" Jugo asked him, rubbing his chin with his thumb.

Kazuma had relayed all what Kirika told him.

"Should you be telling me all these? Isn't this classified info or something?"

"Kirika told me it's ok. It's not really top secret or anything. It's more of like a head's up for everyone who knows magic, and she wanted the Kannagis to be informed since you guys are known to be the strongest or the most powerful or something like that…" He shrugged, making himself sound uninterested.

"So if anything were to happen, we'd have a chance of getting a hold of the situation", Jugo continued.

"Plus, the assumed area where the attacks are concentrated is the Central Park"

"That's where you, Ayano and Ren destroyed Pandemonium and repelled Belial"

"yeah, and having this issue now kinda makes it feel uneasy. I'd like to let Ayano and Ren be informed about this as soon as possible- -"

.

The door suddenly opened, revealing Ayano.

Both men's eyes widened when they saw her.

.

She was covered in blood, her clothes were torn everywhere, and her eyes were blank.

"ta- da- i- ma…" She managed to utter before she fell forward.

* * *

A/N:

Hi there! Yes! I'm making it multi-chap! (help me, God!)

Took me awhile to write this chapter.. TT-TT  
I hope it pulls through.

So yeah, about the youma classifications,… I made that up.. lol  
also, Miyamoto-sensei—just thought of random surname that would sound like Japanese.. hahahaha

For those who aren't familiar with _"Tadaima"_, it's a phrase usually said when one comes home. I guess its English is "I'm home" or something like that…

Shout out to the following people;

_**kazenostigmalover**_

_**kazenostigmafan4ever**_

_**Lucy**_

_**Hadleigh**_

_**Rose**_

_**hotakugirl1996**_

_**Bubbly Girl13**_

_**Priya**_

_**And 2 other Guests!**_

Thanks for all the reviews and support. :D

Anyway…

Um… I'd like to hear from you. Let me know if you think I should write more for this story or it's better as a one shot.

If you think it should write more, then I'd be working harder for the next chapters.  
But if you think otherwise, I'll just delete this chap. No hard feelings. I promise!..x))

So yeah, If you have questions, just PM me… or at least, leave a signed review so I could PM you.

So… what do you think?

Comments? Suggestions?  
Spelling/grammar errors? It would help if you point them out. :D

I'm not used to writing multi-chap stories… so please go easy.. TT-TT

-Foofy


	3. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

It's almost midnight.

Kazuma and Jugo stood as the doctor came out of the room.

"She's going to be fine. All her cuts will heal through time, maybe even faster than what we expect since she's a Kannagi. There are a couple of small bruises throughout her body- those are nothing to worry about. But there's a major one on her left leg. Walking would be painful for her at least for a week or two"

The men simultaneously sighed in relief.

"Oh there's another thing. It's not something to be alarmed about, medically speaking, but I think you should know this."

Jugo nodded at him as a signal to go ahead

The doctor took a long pause before saying,

"When she came in, there were rope marks on her wrists and ankles. Which suggests- -"

"We know what it suggests. She was tied up, right?" Kazuma was staring at the floor. His jaws tightened. His eyes were hard and cold.

He released the tension when he noticed the two staring at him. He mumbled something that's close to the word 'sorry' before asking,

"Has she woken up?"

"…Sorry, but she hasn't. She took quite a beating. Although the wounds are healing fast, her body needs all the rest she can have to fully recover."

His hands balled into fists.

_This is ridiculous_

_This shouldn't have happened._

_Not to her._

"But considering other circumstances, she might wake up sooner than we think. We're still waiting for the results of some tests we took. So until then, that's all we know for now. We'll keep you posted."

The doctor dipped his head before turning to leave.

Jugo went inside the room where Ayano was staying and sat on the chair beside the bed.

Kazuma stayed outside, gazed at her sleeping form for a few seconds, turned away and made his way to the rooftop.

He didn't know what to think or do.

He was angry because he couldn't do anything about it.

He was confused. He still doesn't know what happened. And standing here, doing nothing, waiting for her to wake up was just goddamned torture. And in the midst of this confusion, there's still this issue regarding the abnormal youma attacks, and the lingering thought of his dream the other night, and…

_He just wanted keep her safe_

It was just all so overwhelming. It's making him want to throw up.

He hated it.

His knees were starting to betray him. He felt like melting from the inside.

He remembered the last night he spent beside her,

He remembered how he silently swore to himself that night that he'll keep her that way- Happy, safe, and protected.

.

.

He remembered how everything felt right then, and how it was the complete opposite of what it felt right now.

He leaned his back against the wall for support, and slid down to sit on the floor, palms against his face.

_Ayano…_

* * *

Seconds,

Minutes,

Hours,

They passed without meaning.

The skies turned from black to blue, from blue to orange.

The sun rose up, and went down.

It was all a blur.

Kazuma spent the next day alone, phone turned off, switching from one high place to another.

It was silent as death but it was also loud as hell- Nothing was making sense to him.

* * *

.

.

_She opened her eyes but she couldn't see a thing. It was all pitch black. She couldn't even tell the difference from when she had her eyes closed. It's all the same._

_She tried to move her hand but found that she couldn't. Her wrists were tied up above her head. She tried feeling with her feet, but they were tied as well. _

_She tried to burn the ropes but it didn't work._

"_It's pointless"a voice from somewhere in the darkness was heard  
_

_** x** _

Her eyes flew open and she winced as she was greeted by the blinding light of the room.

She used her hand to shield her eyes from the light, and noticed she wasn't tied up anymore.

_A dream?_

She looked around, trying to not to move too much.

_Everything hurts..._

_I'm in a hospital. It's night. How long have I been sleeping?_

She tried to remember what happened before she found herself in here… before the dream…

_Cake. I remember being with Yukari and Nanase at this cake shop. I ate mine quickly to escape their interrogation about kazu- -_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and sliding shut

_Kazuma?_

"Nee-san! You're awake!"

"Ren!"

The boy rushed over to her side as he started,

"I was so worried about you!" Ren's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "Uncle Jugo told me what happened and I rushed here from school…"

"But - - "

"The doctor said you should be fine but I was just so worried…"

"Wait- -"

"I don't know where kazuma is now but he was here with uncle last night" He was going faster.

"hold on- -"

"your father left just a few hours ago because he had this important meeting for the clan but he promises to get back here as soon as he can…" and faster

"S - -"

"Nanase and Yukari came this afternoon to check on you, they're gone now, but they left these…" and faster…

"They- -"

"I think those are cakes and other sweets and- -"

"REN!"

Her hand covered his mouth. It was the only thing she could do to make him stop. His eyes grew watery with tears building up fast. She removed her hands from his mouth.

.

.

"WE WERE JUST SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" Tears were threatening to fall now.

she panicked a little bit "hey… I'm fine, see?" She waved her hand frantically in front of his face to prove her point, trying her hardest not to show him how much she was hurting with her rough movements

His frown grew larger as he hugged her. "Sorry for freaking out…"

She returned the hug while saying, "Thanks for the concern" She smiled at him as she playfully ruffled his hair.

"Are you hungry or anything? I could get you some food" He looked up at her hopefully, wiping the traces of tears from his eyes.

"just a bit thirsty"

"Alright. I'll be right back" He grinned at her before leaving the room.

When he left, she thought of how Ren could be too mature at one moment then turn into the heart-melting cutest little boy by the next. No wonder Kazuma has a soft spot for him.

_Kazuma… where are you?_

She remembered her current situation.

She was confused,

She was angry,

And she was scared… more than she liked to admit.

One second, she was walking home and then the next, she wakes up in a hospital bed, everything is hurting, her head is throbbing… And the first person she hoped to be there was nowhere to be found.

One night, she's sleeping soundly, wrapped in his arms. Then the next,..god knows what happened…

Ren came back and saw her staring blankly into space. She was too preoccupied with her thoughts to even notice him come in.

She was brought back to reality when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Nee-san, are you ok?" Ren looked at her worriedly

She smiled warmly at him as a response.

"Here, I got you an apple juice" he handed her the juice box

"Thanks", she said as she poked the juice box with the straw.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before Ren had gathered up his courage to ask,

.

.

"Ne, Nee-san… what happened to you? Before you were taken here?"

She turned her head to face him, an apologetic smile plastered on her face..

.

.

"I was hoping you or Kazuma would tell me"

* * *

A/N: whew! That was a long one

First, I'd like to say sorry to those who's been disappointed with this chapter or something… like, if this isn't what you're expecting… (but hey, I'm the writer… I get to decide what happens…lol.. kidding. Of course, your opinions matter greatly… that's why I'm saying sorry)

This was kind of rushed…(I know.. it's not an excuse.. I'm sorry..TT-TT)

Yeaaah… no sweet fluffy moments for Kazuma/Ayano for this one.  
I was trying to focus on each of their feelings in this chapter… I might have made them out of character… I think I overdid it… did I? sorry.. xO  
I think it went horribly long, it turned out boring.  
please, do say so if I have to redo this chapter…

Uhm… I'm really not the drama type of person (if you've read my fic Little Moments, you'd know)… I just have a really, really low self esteem so I'm having a hard time writing stuff like this.. please go easy.. TT-TT

Oh, I've changed the rating from K to T. 'noname' pointed it out… thanks.

Again, shouting out thanks to the following people;

**Lucy**

**Otakugirl1996**

**SapphiRubyCrys**

**Carcar**

**Bubbly Girl13**

**Priya**

**kazenostigmalover**

**VANESA**

**Jacky**

**Koko**

**anin-chan**

**rose**

**and one 'Guest' **

Thank you so much for the words of support and encouragement. You have no idea how much it helps me. TT-TT

I so love you all..

btw, I don't speak- - what's this spanish? I have no clue..

VANESA wrote: _"Tienes j seggir la historia me encantannnntaaaaa!"_

I totally have no idea what this means, but I'm hoping it's something positive.. :D

Anyway,…

Again, I'd be more than glad to hear from you. Tell me what you think of this chapter.

So,.. uh.. that's enough rambling, I guess… I think I might have had too much doughnuts… and coffee..

Well, that's all for now…

-Foofy


	4. On The Rocks

It was a cloudy afternoon.

Kazuma was lying lazily on the grass on a wind farm, arms folded behind his head, as he stared blankly into the endless sky. This has become one of his favorite places.

"You can stop hiding now" He said, without turning his head.

Ren drew nearer to him.

"so this is where you've been lying around?"

"yep… I like it here. Peaceful and all." His voice was dead.

"She's woken up, you know"

Kazuma paused.

"that's good… That's really good." His head was cast down. "Anyway, wanna join me? You'd have to be quiet though" he motioned for him to sit next to him.

Ren remained standing, looking at him in confusion. Kazuma dismissed the topic rather easily.

_Doesn't he care at all?_

He balled his fists.

"Is this how you deal with it?"

He raised a brow "Deal with what?"

It took him a few long moments before he could muster up the courage to start.

"…your failure to be there for her" He stated sternly

.

.

Kazuma was stunned. He wasn't expecting him to be this blunt. He wasn't expecting him at all. He never thought Ren, his little brother, out of all people, would put him responsible for what happened to Ayano.

"Ah. Now you're blaming me? Where were you when it happened?" He asked bitterly.

"No, Where were _**you**_ when she woke up?!"Ren spat out angrily. Then continued,

"… I'm not blaming you for what happened. Ayano is a tough woman. Don't act all cocky and think that she needed you to be her knight in shining armor all the time. That's just ridiculous. She got through with it alive. And here, you're acting like you've killed her."

Kazuma stared, dumbfounded. Words betrayed him for a minute.

"Whoever did this to her could still be running around. And if he comes back... i-if he comes back for her,.." His voice was starting to falter. "you'll be lying here, doing nothing. That's when I'm putting the blame on you."

He felt so stupid. What has he been doing?

He placed his palm against his face. Ren was right. He was acting all depressed, sulky and all...it's stupid.

_Ayano is going to be mad, for sure_… he chuckled inwardly

He looked up at Ren.

"Who're you and what did you do to my cute little brother?" He jokingly asked.

"It's still me, you nincompoop!" Ren was back to his cute side.

"ah, there you are. Oi. That's not the way to talk to your older brother" he poked his forehead.

"Ayano said it was ok… since it's you" he stuck his tongue out

"Oh she did, did she? Who does she think she is? …teaching things to my little brother…Let me have a word with that idiot…" He smirked, and offered a hand to Ren.

Ren smiled widely and clung to his brother's arm as they set off back to the hospital.

* * *

.

.

Ayano was at the hospital garden, sitting at one of the big rocks by the pond. She loved to watch the water ripple as she threw rocks one after another. She loved hearing the sound as each rock hits the surface of the water.

It wasn't much but it does take her mind off of things even just for a while.

"I don't think you should be outside, princess"

She almost jumped.

She cried to the sky,"GOD! You have **got** to stop doing that! The whole world's been sneaking up on me recently!"

She turned to face him

"…you and your freakin stalker habits,… sneaking in my room late at night pretending to be asleep…Then this creepy guy who walked up behind me the other night… and now, you again!... it's what brought me to this situation and it's getting a bit traumatic for me!"

"Technically, that's not _'the whole world'._" He retorted "unless you think of me as your whole world" He winked at her.

She gasped at him. She took one of the rocks she was holding and threw it at him.

Of course, he dodged it.

"YOU! What are you doing here now?" She angrily asked as she continued to throw rocks at him.

"Checking on you" he dodged every one of them while taking steps towards her.

"Oh great, so you decide to check on me _now_?" she threw more.

He just dodged and continued to come closer to her.

"So how much did my father pay you to do this?"

He was just a few feet away from her now.

"Stop coming closer, you jerk!" She was starting to run out of rocks.

When she did, she looked around for more rocks to reload.

Hands in his pockets, he bent down and neared his face inches from hers.

She froze.

"w-what are you- -"

"I didn't get paid to check on you. Idiot" his face was insulting.

She just continued to stare at him angrily, trying to control her blush, trying to hide the fact that their proximity was making her heart flutter.

.

_He's here. He's really here._

_._

He pecked her nose.

From her surprise, her butt slipped from the rock she was sitting on and almost fell to the pond.

-_Almost._

She was able to grab hold of him at the last second. _Grab hold_… it was more like she wrapped her arms around his neck… well that was all she could grab at the moment.

She clung to him for her dear life.

He stood up with her in that position, steadying her by placing his hand on her back.

She was still clinging on to him.

He felt her tighten her arms around him, and nuzzled closer to his neck. He wasn't sure if it was a conscious act or not but he returned the favor by pulling her closer.

They stayed that way for a few more moments, breathing each other in secretly.

"See? You did miss me after all. There was no need for the rocks, princess" he teasingly whispered.

She pushed him off her.

"JERK!" She stepped back her left foot.

She forgot about her injured leg. It hasn't healed enough to support her fully. So she fell down to the ground. "Agh, dammit!"

"Idiot" He moved towards her and sat on the ground next to her. He was about to reach for her leg to look at it when she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch it"

"Shush." He did it anyway.

"ow! "

.

.

"tsk…" She watched his expression as he examined her leg.

"what, you're feeling guilty all of a sudden?"

He remembered the talk he had with Ren.

"Nah. You did this to yourself. Idiot."

"Jerk"

They sat there for a while.

"Aren't you going to ask where I was?" Kazuma questioned her

"nah… I knew you were sulking somewhere" She joked

"You knew?"

"…t-that was supposed to be a joke… wait..you really **were** sulking somewhere?"

He wore an apologetic smile. "… it's stupid. I know. Ren told me off"

Once again, she felt grateful for Ren. But she just had to make Kazuma pay.

"He shouldn't have. You were right. You should be depressed and gloomy. You should have been there. You should have protected me. This is all your fault… As always,"

"No it's not. You're just too weak" He stuck out his tongue

"You're worthless" she grinned.

He was going to ask about what she said earlier_, "…this creepy guy who walked up behind me the other night…" _But he decided against it. He thought, maybe later.

So they just sat there and watched as the sky turned to shades of pink, orange and purple.

And everything felt right again

* * *

-somewhere-

"How are things going?" the man asked the girl

"She's recovering, He was sulking but the little one talked some sense into him… just as you planned"

The man's grin was almost audible, "… Then I guess it's time for the next step"

* * *

A/N: here you go! An early update!

I feel like I have to work quickly, since my classes are starting soon. I won't be able to focus on writing fics once classes start.

What do you say about this chapter? I know. It's pretty short. But hey, I hope this makes up for the last one. We have more Kazuma/Ayano fluff here!..x)

I won't ramble too long.

…Just another BIG thank you to the people who reviewed the last chap.

**kazenostigmalover**

**rose **

**Otakugirl1996**

**Red**

**Bubbly Girl13**

**SapphiRubyCrys**

**Koko**

**Fangirl**

Thanks again!

Well there you go! Thanks for reading, reviews will be very appreciated.

-Foofy


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